Versatile Chauvet rig lights Rend Collective
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“Space was definitely a big concern,” said Marcario. “With two bus trailers, varying stage sizes, and power limitations the fixtures we selected had to be compact, low weight, and low power draw.”
Complicating matters further, some of the venues have little in the way of house rigs, which means that Marcario and the design team have to rely heavily or solely on their touring package to create the varied and engaging looks in the 75-minute show.
Marcario’s solution was to devise a plan that had each fixture fill multiple roles. “There aren’t a lot of fixtures in the rig, but all of them serve several purposes, which they can do because they have many different performance features,” he said. “For me on this tour, it’s all about not using all the features at the same time all the time. I do that only at the bigger, more impactful moments.”
The deftly curated rig that is helping Marcario follow this plan features 32 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by 4Wall Entertainment. Included in this collection are 10 Color STRIKE M motorised strobes, eight Maverick Force S Spots, seven COLORado PXL Bar 16 battens, and seven STRIKE Array 2 units.
Working with the tour LD Trevor Rigsby and lighting technician Kristen Dingman, Marcario has these fixtures create seamless colour changes, varied light angles, and dramatic accents, to mold the stage to fit the mood of the music and reflect the charismatic personalities of the band members.
Key to creating this wide array of looks are the 10 Color STRIKE M fixtures, which Marcario describes as “the rockstars of the rig,” having them serve at different times as strobes, washes, texturising lights, and punch effects. The Force S Spot units also add variety to the lightshow with their hard-edged effects.
Elaborating on his design strategy, Marcario noted, “We intentionally went with a broad colour palette, red for the rock sound, and cool for the ballads. Also, we try to not repeat colour palettes from song to song unless it’s a medley.”
Marcario is also relying on warm white light from his STRIKE Array 2 fixtures to set different moods. “Rend loves tungsten, and I’ve loved the Strike line since it came out, so adding the Strike Array 2 to the rig was an easy choice,” he said. “That red shift is an amazing feature.”
